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05.11.01, 06:53
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"It was like an ambush. The Taliban were firing light arms and either R.P.G.s"—
rocket-propelled grenades—"or mortars." The chaos was terrifying. A high-
ranking officer who has had access to debriefing reports told me that the
Taliban forces were firing grenades, and that they seemed to have an unlimited
supply. Delta Force, he added, found itself in "a tactical firefight, and the
Taliban had the advantage." The team immediately began taking casualties, and
evacuated. The soldiers broke into separate units—one or more groups of four to
six men each and a main force that retreated to the waiting helicopters.
According to established procedures, the smaller groups were to stay behind to
provide fire cover. Army gunships then arrived on the scene and swept the
compound with heavy fire.
The Delta team was forced to abandon one of its objectives—the insertion of an
undercover team into the area—and the stay-behind soldiers fled to a previously
determined rendezvous point, under a contingency plan known as an E. & E., for
escape and evasion.
Delta Force has long complained about a lack of creativity in the Army
leadership, but the unexpectedness and the ferocity of the Taliban
response "scared the crap out of everyone," a senior military officer told me
There was also disdain among Delta Force soldiers, a number of senior officers
told me, for what they saw as the staged nature of the other assault, on the
airfield, which had produced such exciting television footage. "It was sexy
stuff, and it looked good," one general said. But the operation was something
less than the Pentagon suggested. The Rangers' parachute jump took place only
after an Army Pathfinder team—a specialized unit that usually works behind
enemy lines—had been inserted into the area and had confirmed that the airfield
was clear of Taliban forces. "It was a television show," one informed source
told me.